When we meet friends whom we have not seen for a long time, we often ask, “How are you?” with a concern on their well being. The most frequent answer heard, “I have been busy.” Everyone seems busy … all the time. I hardly get to meet someone who is relatively free. People are occupied all the time, almost like 24/7 and if you are out free, you stand out and people wonder what have you wasted your time on!

How do we make time? Can time be made? Are we ahead or behind it? We often run out of it. We lose it. Yet we are given 24hours each, rich or poor, it is the same dose every day. What you make out of it is really up to you. How you want to stretch it depends on your creativity. It can go to waste, too.

What meaning do you attach to time? Is time of value to you? To the businessman, time is money. To an Olympic runner, a mere few seconds make a great difference to the gold medal. To a child, getting to the destination seems like hours. To the cancer patient, every day is a miracle. Time is precious. The clock ticks on where time and tide waits for no man. True.

As the world spins, time slips out as in an hourglass. Are you time tight? How do you manage your time? Or does it manage you? Look around you. Do you see pockets of time you could use? The waiting time, the lull periods, the in-betweens? What do you do?

Clever usage of time needs to be planned. Having designated blocks of time to get things done is one way. Focusing on priorities and giving it the important time slots mean we get key things out of the way. That includes things we dread to do.

To get some extra time, I started off today by waking up an hour earlier. There was much I could do and I did. Things that were put on the back burner came out first and completed in a shorter time frame than I expected. I was elated. I did things faster than I usually do and the change in schedule made the difference because the routine was re-routed and I did things on a fresh footing. That helped.

When we do things we love, we get immersed and time cease to exist. It flies through the window. We are in the time zone. The danger comes when we do not know when to stop as the enjoyment gets exhilarating. That accounts for us being late, delayed work in other aspects, missed deadlines and pushing things back. We need to take a step back to re-focus.

Having a planner to craft out the time zones for work and play makes a lot of sense and yet most people do not do it. Use a planner to see where your time went to and how you can make the most of it. Look at it and ask: Are there things you could cut down? Are there things you could increase? Are there things you can do away or delegate?

It takes effort to make changes and save time when you can. Do you want to do it? What do you see as the end result of having it done? Does it motivate you sufficiently to have the change? It all comes back to the meaning you attach to time. If it is important enough to you, the change will be made. Be time wise.